Report: Chelsea scouts impressed by 23-year-old African forward

Chelsea are eyeing Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and their scouts are impressed with him

According to Calciomercato.com (h/t Daily Mail), Chelsea are eyeing the possibility to sign 23-year-old Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and their scouts were left impressed by his match-winning performance against AS Roma on Sunday.

Osimhen scored a fantastic late winner to keep Napoli three points ahead of second-placed AC Milan in the Serie A. Despite missing a few games due to a hamstring injury, the 23-year-old has been in good goal-scoring form, with five goals in nine appearances in all competitions so far.

Apart from his finishing, the Nigerian international is a handful for any defence in Europe. We saw how he terrified the Liverpool defence in a Champions League match a month ago. He is strong physically, has the pace and willingness to run the channels, is a live wire in the opposition box and is a handful in set-piece situations.

Osimhen has a contract with Napoli until the summer of 2025 (Transfermarkt). It is revealed that if Chelsea are to sign him, then an offer of fewer than £87m will not be entertained. Manchester United and Newcastle United are also keeping a close eye on him.

After the departure of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner in the summer, the Blues signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the deadline day in the summer window to fill up the number nine slot. While the former Arsenal man has done well so far, he is 33 now and would not be a long-term solution for that position.

Hence, the club needs to make sure they sign a top-class centre-forward who is obviously younger than Aubameyang so that manager Graham Potter has a player around which he can build a team for years to come.

With the quality and profile Osimhen brings to the table, he could be an ideal signature for Chelsea. He can add goals and has the ability to terrorise defences in the Premier League.

The market is tough if you have to sign elite players. So, the price tag mentioned in order to sign the 23-year-old should not surprise or set the blues back.

More Chelsea News:

• Graham Potter gives his verdict on the draw with Manchester United
• Transfer News: Kevin Campbell tips Chelsea to sign Cristiano Ronaldo on loan in January
• Chelsea receive possible encouragement from Frenkie de Jong over a January move

It is what you may be asked to pay for if you want an elite, young goal-scorer, especially after seeing us make big investments in Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner.